Consumers Say Access to EHR Trumps Privacy

Jun 25, 2014

The ability to access electronic health records (EHR) outweighs concerns of privacy invasion for U.S. consumers with chronic conditions, according to Accenture’s 2014 Patient Engagement Survey. The research study of 2,011 individuals, a little more than half of whom had a chronic condition, revealed that 69% of those with a chronic condition believe they should have the right to access all of their healthcare information, and 51% believe that the benefits of being able to access their medical records online outweigh the risks.

The greatest barrier to accessing those records online for 55% of those with chronic conditions is not knowing how to do it. For the largest majority (87%), access isn’t enough; they want to control their health data. Only a little more than half, however, believe they have much or any control over their medical information.

The U.S. Centers for Disease Control estimates that 47% of Americans have at least one chronic disease, but they account for 76% of all physician visits. They are also actively engaged at most stages of patient care, which means healthcare needs to adapt to a new generation of consumers who expect to have transparency and, therefore, demand more access to their personal data online, said Kaveh Safavi, M.D., J.D., the leader of Accenture’s global health business.